Regina Symphony Orchestra Mosaic Masterworks Concert Series

In honour of Franz Liszt's 200th birthday, the RSO will perform Hungarian music. Saskatchewan-born Helen Kashap is proud to take the stage for her professional orchestral debut playing Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2.

Hailed by Interlochen Public Radio USA as "an exciting pianist full of energy and spirit", twenty-two year old Helen Kashap, a native of Saskatoon, has been seen in performance across Canada, the United States and Europe, most recently appearing in a concert at the International Keyboard Festival in Gijon, Spain. The daughter of two professional musicians, Kashap grew up surrounded by music and at the age of fifteen, moved to the United States to attend the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, the foremost fine arts boarding high-school in the United States, where she launched her performing career.

A finalist in the 2006 International Interlochen Concerto Competition, Kashap was awarded First prize at the 2007 Midwestern USA Piano competition in Madison, WI, and has won several top prizes at competitions such as the Canadian Music Competition, MTNA USA, the Kinsmen Competition, the Saskatchewan Concerto Competition, and is currently one of eight National finalists in the upcoming National Knigge Music Competition in Vancouver, BC. Kashap has also been the recipient of several substantial music awards and scholarships including a $30,000 award to attend the Lawrence Conservatory of Music in Wisconsin, summer study scholarships from the Banff Center for the Arts, and most recently, the McGill Schulich School of Music' most prestigious award; the Schulich Scholarship.

In her final year of a Bachelor of music degree at McGill University in Montreal, Kashap has had the privilege of working with several renowned pianists including Menahem Pressler, Claude Frank, Andre Laplante, Olga Kern, Robert McDonald (Juilliard), Julian Martin (Juilliard), and Marc Durand. In addition to studying in The United States, Canada and France and having her work broadcast live on American Public radio, Kashap has participated in summer programs at the Banff Center for the Arts, the Orford Arts Academy, Toronto Summer Music program and the Interlochen Arts Camp. Upcoming performances include solo recitals at the Fazioli Piano Series in Toronto, ON and the Kelowna PianoForte Festival in Kelowna, BC in the summer of 2011.